Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 21 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] this program is about unsolved mysteries whenever possible the actual family
members and police officials have participated in recreating the events what you are about to see is not a news
broadcast recently we were astonished to discover according to one medical researcher 50% of all Americans who lost
a loved one say they have later been visited by that loved one with beyond the grave after her husband John died
Patty Eggleston insisted on several occasions he appeared to her and endowed her with the strength to carry on
in 1984 18 year-old Paige Roark left home for an evening out six hours later she was killed by a drunk driver
incredibly Paige's mother and grandmother both claimed they were visited by Paige's spirit hallucinations
remarkable unexplained phenomena but under slain Kathleen Belcher began talking to her mother about blood types
she never dreamed the conversation would spring the lock on a deeply held secret
the mothers post-world War two romance the true identity of Kathleen's biological father jointly are these
fascinating stories perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery [Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Music] what happens beyond the grave life is over despite a myriad of religious beliefs
seems to be one surprising area of consensus according to a noted medical researcher seven out of ten widows and
widowers in the United States report that their spouses have come back to visit them after death hallucination or
does a bond of matrimony transcend the grave January 28 1989 John and Patty eggleston along with her two young sons
Johnny and Kris were packing up after a day of skiing ahead lay a 70 mile drive to their home in a Seattle suburb
everything was calm routine normal [Music] disaster the Eccleston's car careened
off this bridge and plummeted into the river below a free fall of more than 80 feet it was pitch dark a car rapidly
filled with Pacey water Pattie Eccleston was badly injured yet at the moment she
might have panicked paddy was suffused with an inexplicable calm I had this feeling come through me and
fill me and fill every pore every cell of my being with warmth and love it was pure love and it was guidance and that
feeling gave me the knowledge and the strength to do what I needed to do next Patti did not at first realize that her
husband John had died on impact but she came to believe that it was John's spirit even after death which
inspired her gave her the strength to break free and rescue her boys Johnny and Christopher were saved by the heroic
efforts of their mother and a brave passerby who plunged into the river to help after a brief stay in the hospital
Patti Eccleston returned home and struggled to be strong Patti says that when things seemed bleak
ste once again since John's spirit at first it was at night in the bedroom I was woken up from a sound sleep with
the feeling that John had just been there I could feel him I could smell him I could feel where he was in the bed the
only sensation I didn't have was visual I did not see him every other part of it
I felt and experienced and it was not a dream it was too real to be a dream eventually a Seattle physician Melvin
Morris heard about Pattie Eggleston dr. Morris has documented hundreds of after death visits and believes as such visits
actually happened that they are not simply the product of overactive imaginations I feel that the fact that
these experiences are emotionally dynamic that they help to heal grief and that people learn from them are a
powerful piece of circumstantial evidence and I grant that it's circumstantial but a powerful piece of
circumstantial evidence that that experience at least as real as any other human
experience for paddy John's presence became more and more real finally he appeared in bodily form I was
sitting in my living room and had the lights on and I was sitting on the couch reading a book I just kind of glanced up
and John was there I couldn't touch him but I could see him and he started communicating to me and I say
communicating because he was not talking with his lips I think John is beginning
to feel better I think so too but it was a conversation it was a two-way conversation he was talking to me I was
talking to him I don't know if I can do this alone I'm here to tell you that you
can there's a reason you survived remember to trust and you'll always know what to do thank you Patti says that
John's visits continued for nearly a year looking back I know it was he he didn't come anymore after I had gotten
my life together I was okay I was truly okay things were still rough I was still
hurting but I had gained enough strength personal strength that I could go on without him and he wasn't there anymore
despite Patti Eccleston xàbia sincerity her experience could be written off as a
spouse's grief induced hallucination but widows and widowers are not the only ones who report after death visits in
fact some studies claim that more than 50% of the populations experienced this phenomenon many are afraid to talk about
it openly but the family of eighteen-year-old Paige Rourke agreed to share their story
Paige was our baby and we were just so pleased to have her she was a fun child she loved people even from when she was
a little girl there was a sparkle in her eyes and in her demeanor on the afternoon of April 14th 1984 page :
Roark left her house in Fallbrook California for an outing with friends I love you mom I love you too
[Music] six hours later Paige Roark was dead she and one of her friends had been killed
when a drunk driver smashed into their car I have never felt so helpless and hopeless and out of control of my life
it was as though my heart was crushed you can't see the scars on me because they're inside it's almost as if I've
marked my life from the moment I was told that she was dead Cynthia tried to escape her grief by
running it was an activity for which she and Paige had a shared passion two days
after the crash Cynthia left her house at 5:00 a.m. she ran for more than an hour then as dawn was breaking I was
coming back towards home and there are a rays of sunshine coming down through the
trees and they were beautiful I stopped and I you know I looked up into that light and I was blinded it was like it
was just white and then I heard Paige I'm okay mom I can see through that light I'm with the Lord and I'm okay
[Music] I remember a feeling of joy of peace I didn't expect it I didn't try to have it
happen I feel that at that at the point I was I was extremely extremely devastated and it turned my my whole
thinking around at that point later Cynthia would be stunned to find out that her mother who lived a thousand
miles away in Denver and had an even more vivid experience love you grandma [Music]
Paige [Music] I'm okay you and so is my mom she said I have seen mom that's my mother and I'm going to
take care of her yeah I had never told anyone I'd had this I thought maybe they would think something's wrong with me
but it was very clear to me that I had a vision and she was just so beautiful and
perfect and here we were worried about her and she was comforting us all the time comforting me okay and it was just
very real and I know I know what happened I know it in my heart prior to my research these experiences
have been thought to simply be grief induced hallucinations passive fantasies of the mind struggling to deal with a
terrible loss the difference is that I'm saying that death related visions and post death visitations are real they're
emotionally dynamic we can learn things from them that they're actually an interaction between the person who has
died and the person who is seeing the vision dr. Barry Byers Dean a physiological psychologists disagrees I
believe these people are telling us some very interesting things I think they're
telling us honest recollections of what it seemed like to them and so I'm interested in their experiences now I
don't interpret them probably the way they do I think these are things that seemed incredibly real to them but
probably didn't exist in reality outside the theater of their own minds I don't want to be perceived as a nutcase but it
is important it's very important for people out there to hear this story if it helps one person and I'll share this
story and I'll continue to share it for whoever ever needs to hear it is there any way to explain what
happened to the families of John Egleston and Paige or can the Dead return or are after death visits simply
the echo of a strong earthly love perhaps we will never know the answers perhaps it does not matter as Albert
Einstein once said the greatest experience we can have is the mysterious [Music]
on August 3rd 1957 the streets around st. bonaventure zs-- monastery in Detroit Michigan swelled with some
10,000 mourners it was one of the largest funerals in the city's history [Music]
the inspiration for this massive outpouring was not the death of a powerful Cardinal Archbishop but rather
the passing of a humble friar named father salanas Casey for more than 50 years father Solanas was a church receptionist
and doorman one of the lowest ranking priests and the Catholic hierarchy father Solanas was a man who really
cared for people and when people came to him with their worries and fears and pains he had a way of simply giving them
courage to live their life the way there was those whose lives were touched by father Solana's claimed that he said at
the right hand of God to them Solana's was a miracle worker even today some still turn to father Solana's for help
when facing a medical crisis I do believe my / - father Solanas was answered the first time my prayers have
really been answered like that in such a dramatic way I'm still in awe of what had happened I have no other explanation
for it in the fall of 1990 David Witt cop's wife Joann developed a lump in her breast we were concerned
whether this density could be a cancer we weren't sure what we were dealing with so medically you have to do a
biopsy to see is it benign or malignant an appointment with a surgeon was scheduled immediately when David and
Joann arrived at the hospital they happened upon a small prayer room there hung a portrait of father Solanas Casey
I was very desperate and I just prayed to father Solanas that there would be no more surgery and I just want to join
that not to have this this kind of operation at all anymore jo-ann was wheeled into surgery and
David prepared for a long actress wait David they looked up and it was Joann out in the hallway there I thought
well maybe if they're taking her down for surgery now on your wife there's no sign of a mass what does that mean well
we took another set of x-rays today to locate the mass for the surgery but the plates were clean they didn't reveal any
mass that's over david prayed to God that I wouldn't have surgery and his prayers were answered
even though a half hour before it looked hopeless and I believe that Solanas and
God saw fit to have a healing that day miracles aren't usually things that I'm comfortable with I don't look for them I
don't expect them I'm that a miracle worker I think Joann believes it was a miracle
and that's good enough for her in my mind all I know is it went away and she's better and I'm thankful for it
science has coined the term spontaneous remission to account for sudden recoveries like Joanne Witt cops but the
faith see her case was one more example of the marvelous healing powers of father's Solana's Casey a petition to
declare father Solanas a saint is currently before the Vatican a stunning tribute to a one-time Wisconsin farm boy
named Bernard Casey Barnard Casey was born in 1871 of 16 brothers and sisters at the age of 21 he
was moved to dedicate his life to the church classes bender Barnard was accepted at a Seminary in
Milwaukee Wisconsin where classes were taught in German and Latin Bernard who had not even completed high school
struggled from the start man-ho fisty stew Ellis yaja professor explores all good
[Music] Barnard was ultimately asked to withdraw he later enrolled in the Capetian
Seminary in Detroit where he was given the name Father salanas here too he floundered miserably in his studies
father Solanas was one of these people who had difficulty remembering the question and answers and theology and so
on and as a result he never really passed all the tests in a seminary days [Music]
once again salanas was close to failure but a few of his superiors recognized a spiritual character and proposed a
compromise Solanas was ordained but he was barred from hearing confession preaching a sermon or teaching the
doctrine all the most cherished duties of a priest this was a rather humiliating thing but I think he
accepted it as God's will and that act of humility then made him more pleasing in God's eyes and so God could work
great things through him after his ordination in 1904 Father Solanas was sent to New York
my daughter father his day in and day out he would greet the parishioners at a church in Yonkers soon it was father
salonist people came to see I'm afraid or you must trust God when you pay he will hear you yes yes Father Solana
served in New York for 20 years by the time he was transferred to st. Bonaventure Eze and Detroit many had
come to regard Solanas as a divine healer but the power to intercede with God perhaps the most extraordinary cure
ascribed to Solanas came in the case of 12 year old Charles Rogers his sister Helen 8 years old at the time remembers
vividly in 1935 we had the polio epidemic in Detroit and at that time my brother came down with a severe headache
and stiffness of the neck that went down into his arms and legs and eventually he
ended up with spasms he would shake his body would shake dr. Ronald Athey was one of the choice top polio specialists
it didn't take him long to make the diagnosis what we do nothing but we must get him
to the hospital tonight dad wouldn't hear about it right away he wanted to you know see if things would
change father Salamis father Solanas pardon me for interrupting you but one of mr.
Rogers employees has heard about Charles's plate and went straight to father so Louis will you please pray for
him father I know you have the power to make it better will you pray for him father please
don't worry he will be better than that [Music] Helen Gleeson says her brother underwent
a miraculous transformation that very night dad how are you feeling all right let's get you back to bed come
on doctor Athey returns skeptical that Charles's condition could possibly have improved
[Music] now give me your hand put it up against mine push my hand back he told him to
put his hand up against his and push and do the same with the other hand and his
muscles were moving the paralysis seemed to leave his Charles paralyzed muscles seemed to get better and walk over to me
[Music] and dr. AC said mr. Rogers you did more than prey he says this is indeed as a
miracle and medical men do not use that term according to Helen Charles recovered fully within a month
he lived to be 64 years old and was never again troubled by any symptom of polio father Solanas Casey retired in
1956 at the age of 85 until his death the following year medical problems caused him great suffering the week
complained little his skin became very red and scaly at times it was very burning and so a very painful to him and
so at the end of his life his body was one of the witnesses described it he was as red as a lobster in 1966 father
Solano's was proposed as a candidate for sainthood a formal procedure that often
takes decades in 1987 30 years after Solano's Casey's death his body was exhumed to allow church officials to
look for signs that might validate canonization while his hands and his face were somewhat darkened the rest of
his body was very natural-looking and in fact the the doctor even pressed day and
it was appliable but there was no sign of any skin disease of any kind usually after 30 years there will be significant
decomposition the stunning condition of Selena's Casey's body reported by church
officials is said to be characteristic of some candidates for sainthood following the ritual examination a body
of father Solana's was placed in a special sanctuary within st. bonaventure x' as he did in life father Solanas
continues to draw pilgrims and inspire believers from around the world to me a lot of times us myself praying to God I
need help so or I might need an interpreter if I can put it that way and I think he does how people do that
was father Solanas a divinely inspired miracle worker who somehow had the ear of God or Kenny's cures be explained in
more earthly terms in the end like the mystery of faith itself the only answer is in the eye of the beholder in a
moment when a well-guarded family secret is revealed a woman embarks on a search
for her birth father [Music] in May of 1988 in Plant City Florida a hospital nurse and Cathleen Belcher
received an urgent call from her mother Miriam Kathleen stepfather was about to have
major surgery and needed several pints of blood from both Kathleen and her sister was mostly afraid of the blood
transfusion age you know things like that he wants us to donate blood well what's his blood type carefully no
was only too happy to help what are you are you eight no no I'm B oh I guess maybe it was
daddy who was a Kathleen never dreamed that this conversation with her mother would prompt an extraordinary revelation
are you sure your father was a no and I said that's impossible because I have a positive and I have to have one of your
blood types every person has to have either their mother or their father's blood type and obviously I did not I had
a and my father or the man that raised me and I thought was my father had oh and my mother has B my heart went down
to my feet and I thought you know all these years and now this my secret will be out Kathleen I don't want to talk
about this anymore míriam Terry had inadvertently revealed a secret she had kept hidden for nearly
40 years the true identity of Kathleen's biological father Miriam was thrown back to the end of
World War two and she made the most agonizing decision of her life Miriam's first husband Budd Terry the man
Kathleen knew as her father had flown dozens of bombing missions overseas after the war bud was a changed man
before he was in the service he was a wonderful man when he came out of the service he was completely different
Budd could not get jobs anymore because every job he got he would write their checks to customers and so on and so
forth to pay his bills his gambling debts and he was afraid of even being killed
because he owed gamblers both gambling was very bad I don't really have any idea how much he won how much he lost
but he was always as good in 1945 Berryman Budd had a daughter Kathleen's older sister in 1948 Budd
rien listed hoping military discipline would restore some order to his life it did not but Terry want a whoa leaving
Miriam and the young daughter behind you've been alone a long time darling and you really need Miriam says bud had
been gone for several months when his parents began to suggest Miriam start dating they even introduced her to Chet
Norris the bartender at their local social club in Covington Kentucky he's been looking at you I didn't know much
about him at the time he was very nice-looking he had dark eyes I want to introduce you to marry him our daughter
in life how do you do hi he had a good personality he was just very nice and he seemed to be attracted
to me I hadn't I really didn't even feel like a woman anymore at this time I felt
deserted like I was unattractive like I was nothing so uh what do you like to do
for fun I like to dance oh I love to dance do you dance very well from his tentative beginnings Miriam and Chet's
friendship quickly blossomed a few horses I wanted a divorce from my husband and I wanted to marry Chet and
he wanted to marry me [Music] chut began to think about a future with Miriam he quit his job at the club and
found work as an apprentice tile Center six months flew by then reality came crashing down Miriam's husband bud Terry
was arrested by military authorities they had found him living with another woman in Indianapolis all this while and
I was so upset because of my I did not want to go back to him that I didn't care what I did and I felt like I I I
just lost my cool I guess and I got pregnant [Music] Miriam was in a quandary pregnant and in
love with a man who wasn't her husband [Music] I'm not sure it's good news sure of
course what is it I'm pregnant I mean I think I'm pregnant you can't be I don't think I can have kids Chet I'm telling
you I've been pregnant before remember I I feel like I am well if you are let's go get married I mean we've been talking
about getting married anyway so let's do it well I have to divorce but first that
shouldn't be a problem should it Miriam soon visited but in jail she was determined to end there Mary
the only reason I'm here is because I want a divorce Miriam I'm sorry for what I did but I've
met someone else I love him and he loves me and we want to get married no but you
were the one that left Edward although my husband had been gone all this while and I didn't feel I loved him anymore
I was worried about losing my daughter I'm back and that's that we are not getting divorced but I'm pregnant did
you hear what I said I said that I am pregnant he bashed his head against the wall and cried and then he said I want
you to come back anyway and nobody will ever have to know just come back to me so at this time I felt like I was
between a rock and a hard place what about the baby what are you gonna do about that tell
but it's his Miriam decided that hiding the truth was the only way out of the emotional tangle she told Chet that she
was not pregnant after all she's married look I know things are very complicated
right now was terribly hard but I felt I had no choice I had to do that it was awful really awful
yeah we take Deborah and leave Oh be reasonable I can't you can't just sit there you have to do something I am
doing something I'm staying here with Deborah and bud he was very upset and very angry and said this is going to
happen again and again and again you'll see your life is just gonna be one of misery never heard anything about him
ever anymore it was like he dropped off of the face of the earth but Terry was released from jail after
Miriam wrote to a judge begging for clemency Kathleen was born on February 12 1950 and true to his word Budd raised
her as his own he never gave me any indication that he knew that I was not his there's no way that I would ever
known in fact I have renewed respect for him because he never left me no he always loved me and loved me equal and
we spent a lot of time together bud struggled to make his marriage work but his addiction to gambling kept the
family on the brink of bankruptcy in 1969 he and Miriam finally divorced Miriam remarried in 1974 bud Terry
committed suicide around that time and Miriam assumed her secret would be safe forever
more than a decade would pass before circumstance forced her and tell Kathleen the truth I would have taken
this secret to my grave but since it's my fault because of me that this happened I want
to help her because I love my daughter with her mother's blessings Kathleen Belcher has spent six years searching
for her father using Social Security records classified ads and computer hotlines with the name
of Chet Lee Norris Kathleen is phone literally hundreds of norris's across the country but today she is no closer
to seeing her father than when she first began to look I just hope I can find him
before he does pass away it would be terrible to know that he just passed away months ago
and I miss my chance to know him it may seem that I'm calm about the whole circumstance but deep down I'm uh it is
I think about it day and night I think what it would be like to look in his face and see my face it would be nice to
see you know where I got my nose which doesn't look like anybody's where I got my ears and you know just to look at
somebody and see familiarity this is the only known photograph of chetley Norris taken when his about 32
years old today he would be in his mid-70s Chet said he was a Golden Gloves boxer during the 1940s he may have had a
brother named John when we returned authorities need your help to track down a serial killer tonight we have a case
of the utmost urgency someone is murdering young women in the Midwest the authorities need your help
please watch closely 26 year-old Robin fool down at Indianapolis Indiana wanted more than anything to marry and start a
family on April 8 1992 Robin was found shot to death at the shoe store where she worked
23 year old patricia smith and 32 year old Patricia majors were both happily married they work side-by-side at a
bridal shop in Wichita Kansas just three days after Robin fooled our was murdered both Patricia Smith and
Patricia majors were shot to death in the back store room of the shop 24 year old Nancy Kitzmiller of st. Charles
Missouri had just recently qualified to join a government mapmaking team and was
awaiting assignment three weeks after the Wichita murders Nancy Kitzmiller was shot to death in
the boot store where she worked as a manager for murders in three different states separated by more than 1200 miles
at first glance they seemed to be random killings yet each took place at his shopping just off Interstate 70 or a
connecting Highway indeed there was a pattern after all greater Missouri another link in the deadly chain a
Woodson village shopping center near an access road to interstate 70 on May 7 1992 37 year-old Sarah blessing was
working alone in a gift shop at the mall at 6:30 p.m. that day a local auctioneer
noticed a stranger walking into his auction house the stranger looked around briefly and walked out again
Tim Hickman who owned a video store next to the gift shop where Sarah blessing worked took notice as the man crossed
the parking lot and passed by his store minutes later Tim heard a loud pop that sounded like a gunshot he reached his
front door just as a man was disappearing around the corner right away it registered with Tim Hickman that
this was the stranger he had just seen a grocery clerk collecting shopping carts
also noticed a stranger she watched as he climbed the embankment to an interstate 70 access road and vanished
meanwhile Tim Hickman grabbed a portable phone and went next door to the gift shop
I kind of looked in through the door and I didn't see anything and I was calling ma'am ma'am and I
stepped forward a couple of more steps and then I sent her legs sticking out of the other room
Sarah blessing lay lifeless in a pool of blood Tim Hickman immediately called the
police in no time the returned tragedy was connected to the earlier shopping mall killings a multi-state task force
was formed ballistics tests confirmed that all five women had been killed with the same gun most likely a
semi-automatic 22 caliber pistol that gun was also linked to the murder of another victim this one a man on April
27th 1992 40 year-old Michael McCown of Terre Haute Indiana had been killed in a
shopping mall ceramics store near Interstate 70 there were now six victims the most promising lead came from
Wichita police believed the killer had chosen the bridal shop there because he thought
only a single female clerk was in the store he was probably surprised to find two women on duty I'm just gonna tie you
up calm down moments later a customer arrived to pick up a cummerbund for his tuxedo
[Music] he had no idea that Patricia Smith and Patricia majors had just been shot hey
man I don't know what's going on here but I need wait a minute I want you to come in the back room with me look man
like what are you doing there what are you doing I I just need you to come in a back room hey man I can't come in the
back room I just won't get out of here I didn't see nothing I don't know nothing
that's going on here I just I just wanted to shut up and get the hell out of here then and don't call the cops
inexplicably the killer left the eyewitness go free a short time later he called the police using his description
as well as those of the rate tile I witnesses a police artist came up with this composite drawing of the i-70
killer the suspect is between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall weighs around 170 pounds and seems to be 35 to 40 years
old he has ready share and a high forehead and what witnesses described as lazy eyelids according to each of the
eyewitnesses the suspect was neatly dressed in clean-cut he appeared to be almost in a trance as if he were
thinking of something else it's important for the audience to know that a serial killer never stops they
may stop for a period of time but they never stopped completely and they will always start up again so we're trying to
find this person and stop this person before we have six more now tragically there are seven victims after we filmed
this story the murder apparently struck again killing a young woman in Arlington
Texas although the bullet this time did not come from the same gun the mo is so similar the police are virtually sure
it's the same man once again the suspect is between 35 and 40 years old 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall
with reddish or sandy hair and thin lips [Music] but our next turn solve histories
30 years ago he was America's most notorious criminal Albert DeSalvo the Boston Strangler he confessed to killing
13 women in the city between 1962 and 1964 but many doubted DeSalvo story and the night before he had promised to tell
the whole truth DeSalvo was stabbed to death in his prison cell somebody found out somebody
didn't want that interview happening and I think they have said before dead men tell no tales
today some believe DeSalvo was innocent and that the real Boston Strangler got away with murder
join me next time for this controversial investigation and more on unsolved mysteries
[Music] [Applause] [Music]

Brief Summary

The episode discusses after-death visits, miraculous healings, and a woman's search for her biological father.

Key points

The Mystery of After-Death Visits. Many people report feeling the presence of loved ones after they pass away.
Patti Eccleston's Miraculous Experience. After a tragic accident, Patti felt her deceased husband's spirit guiding her to save their children.
Cynthia's Vision of Paige. Cynthia Roark experienced a comforting vision of her daughter after her tragic death.
Father Solanas Casey's Healing Powers. Father Solanas is remembered for his miraculous healings and the impact he had on people's lives.
The Search for Identity. Kathleen Belcher uncovers a family secret about her biological father through a blood type revelation.
Miriam's Dilemma. Miriam finds herself pregnant and in love with another man, complicating her life further.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had this feeling come through me and fill every pore of my being.

Patti Eccleston describes her experience during a life-threatening moment.

3:42WatchMay 23, 2019

Tension

45/ 100Some tension

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